


how do I love thee?

by mayuuunaise



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: 100 Themes Challenge, Fluff, I forgot about that lol, M/M, Mutual Pining, does anyone even remember these anymore or am i just really old in fandom years, i don't know much about act 2 btw so to jp players pls take it w a grain of salt lol, will edit the tags as we go!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24471328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayuuunaise/pseuds/mayuuunaise
Summary: Let me count the ways.Or, a hundred scattered moments of Muku, Yuki, and a cheesy love story waiting to bloom.
Relationships: Rurikawa Yuki/Sakisaka Muku
Comments: 21
Kudos: 55





	1. Set 1: i love thee to the depth and breadth of height

** Introduction **

The first time Yuki truly takes notice of him is not through a stuttered introduction at the start of their first year of middle school in front of the class nor is it through hurried words of awe spoken in front of a scary guidance counselor.No, the first time he’s introduced to Sakisaka Muku is in a blur of pink and periwinkle blue, stark against the vivid green of the track field.

He thinks, _oh_ , this is why he’s so popular, as Sakisaka skids to a stop, not breaking a sweat even when he leaves his teammates in the dust and grins almost as bright as the sun.

* * *

** Complicated  **

Yuki can feel the tiniest beginnings of a skeletal fracture claw its way up the walls he has built looking at the way Sakisaka beams and calls him by his name, looking awfully proud and excited at the prospect of going home together. He feels a bigger one jar his whole being when he promptly refuses the pink haired boy and sees the hurt and disappointment in those baby blues. 

It’s better this way, Yuki tries to convince himself, and wills his steps go faster.

* * *

** Making History **

“Yukki, aren’t you rather docile today!” Kazunari coos; his teasing voice betrays the knowing glances the blonde throws him before shifting to the beginner sewer who had offered his services in an attempt to lessen Yuki’s workload. Yuki huffs, sharp orange eyes narrowing at Friendly McExtrovert and his _annoying_ tendency to know more than Yuki would ever want him to. He doesn’t say anything more though — which seems to only make Kazunari grin even wider if that were possible — and instead shifts closer to Muku whose cheeks flush a pretty pink as he shows his progress on one of Tenma’s costume pieces.

* * *

** Rivalry **

It’s not that Yuki is a very jealous person, because he _isn’t_ no matter how much Kazunari grins and delights in his frustrations over Muku’s ever-growing popularity since his growth spurt at the start of their second year in high school. It really is just that he finds himself growing tired and irritated at the way his female classmates always fawn and swoon and crowd the door once the bell rings with the hopes of perhaps today they may be able to walk partway home with Sakisaka-kun.

But maybe Yuki can admit that he does get a sick sense of satisfaction at the way they always look so disappointed when Muku finally drops by their classroom and beams at him, asking if he’s ready to go home; point to Rurikawa Yuki.

* * *

** Unbreakable **

Muku is looking up at him with wide, teary eyes, apology already on the tip of his tongue and likely a string of extremely negative and awful self-deprecating words following after.

“Yuki-kun, I’m so, so, so—”

Yuki doesn’t even think twice and instead gingerly maneuvers him to step away from the glass shards of what once had been a glass ornament given to him by one of his older sisters.

“Don’t even think about it. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Yuki barely has time to brace himself before Muku squeezes him into a tight hug — babbling how no, he’s not hurt at all, he’s sorry for being clumsier than a newborn fawn, no, he’s not even cute enough to be able to compare himself to such a precious being, he’ll make it up to him, Yuki-kun, just say the word that must have been so expensive and he’s so, so, sorry — and Yuki has to resist the urge to laugh when Muku’s being so sincere and apologetic over an old trinket he’d been meaning to replace with anyway.

* * *

** Obsession **

Muku gushes about a whole lot of things — sweets, puppies, shoujo manga, grand romantic fantasies fabricated from incredibly mundane interactions by the Curryian and the Money-grubbing Yakuza — but Yuki feels an incredible amount of pride whenever Muku starts his tirade and directs it towards the costumes he designs. He can practically feel Tenma’s sneer from all the way over the other side of their shared room; the hack is probably seconds away from making a sarcastic comment about how Muku’s overly enthusiastic praise must be making Yuki’s ego bigger than it already is. The designer silences him with a sharp glare as if daring him to cut Muku’s words _for even a second_ with unnecessary snark.

* * *

** Eternity **

To say that Muku has an obsession for all things fantastical and romantic would be the understatement of the century. His character meta and story analysis, once it starts, rivals even the length in which the Shameless Poet waxes poetics about his greatness. These sorts of conversation with Muku takes hours off of their down time, but Yuki finds that he doesn’t really mind though, not when he’s found a tiny bit guilty himself of being so fascinated by the way Muku’s eyes light up and his voice picks up speed and volume when he starts talking about the latest chapter of _Sorry! The Villainess has Second-Lead Syndrome_. 

* * *

** Gateway **

His older sisters have always said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and Yuki has never been so inclined to agree with the statement as he watches the psycho-stalker practically glow when Izumi places another hearty serving of curry in front of him. Yuki scoffs, spoon pushing the nth curry they’ve had this week alone, and is ready to make a sarcastic comment until his eyes land on Muku scarfing down his own serving rather generously before he beams at Izumi and dishes out compliments one after another.

Yuki frowns just a bit, maybe he could ask Ma about simple recipes he could learn soon…

* * *

** Death **

“Ah! I’ve died again,” Muku pouts at his phone screen in uncharacteristic frustration; Yuki has the sudden urge to reach out and squeeze his cheek to get that irritatingly adorable expression off of his face. “Itaru-san recommended this game but it might be too hard for a no-good, weak-willed, baby chick beginner like me…I just wanted to rescue the princess.”

Yuki snorts and flips through the pages of a borrowed manga from Muku, making little notes in the corner where inspiration strikes. “Then just give up if you’re gonna keep on whining like that.”

“Ehhh, but I can’t give up! The princess looks so much like Yuki-kun, I definitely can’t leave her in the demon lord’s castle!”

He promptly drops the manga and sputters over the ridiculous determination set in Muku’s fair features.

* * *

** Opportunities **

Yuki — whenever he is able to, but you’ll never hear him admit it — volunteers to partner with Muku to handout flyers, acting nonchalant at the way Muku lights up at the chance to promote the Spring Troupe’s next play with him. It’s only obvious, he scoffs at them, that the cutest of the troupe would be the ones to advertise such a cute theme like Alice in Wonderland.

And if Yuki takes his sweet time in handing out flyers in favour of watching Muku work his natural charm — all bright smiles and delicate voice — on everyone that passes, well, only Yuki would really know that, right?


	2. Set 2: i love thee to the level of every day's most quiet need

** Danger **

Muku prides himself in his extensive knowledge of all things fluff and romance brought about by years of extensive reading of shoujo manga and light novels, so he’s always pretty prepared when it comes to bracing himself for tooth-rotting, admittedly cliche scenes that make your heart go pitter-patter.

But this —

“Oh, Muku, stay still,” Yuki’s suddenly close, too close, close enough that Muku can clearly see the way his lashes are long enough to cast shadows on the apples of his cheeks. “You’ve got cream on your chin.”

— yes, Muku is brave enough to admit that his heart is definitely not ready for Rurikawa Yuki’s fingers to graze against his face to wipe away stray whipped cream.

* * *

** Dead Wrong **

Azu-nee _usually_ knows best; Muku says usually because recently his observations have been missing the mark quite a bit. Like how he tells Muku that he shouldn’t have any problem getting chocolates from the person he likes this valentines with a mysterious little smile on his face, or that the reason Yuki-kun seems to be extra grouchy around him these days is because more and more of his classmates have been giving him advanced obligation chocolates and other sweets.

Because there is absolutely no way in the world that Yuki would ever give him chocolates — even obligatory ones, ones strictly for friends — on valentines this year either (or for any other year, for that matter); Azu-nee must be losing his touch.

* * *

** Running Away **

“Cute…” Muku mumbles under his breath, eyes locked on the rare image of Yuki playfully poking the little tabby kitten on the ground, before he can realize what he’s saying — 

but then he does and his palms start sweating _immediately_ and his fight or flight instinct kicks into overdrive.

“That, that is—!” Muku can feel his face growing redder by the second, and his eyes dart everywhere but to the boy probably looking at him with mild confusion at best and absolute disgust at worst. “I, I, I have to go buy cutie — I mean cumin! Cumin powder, for, for the director! I’ll see you at the dorm!” Muku all but sputters out, immediately putting the cat back down and sprinting as fast as he can, doesn’t even wait for whatever Yuki’s reply would be.

* * *

** Judgment **

“Oh, and gosh, the author’s just really, really good! You would think that because the author tended to do manga about first loves that they would have a hard time translating that to leads in their 40s, but oh… Yuki-kun, it still has that warm, innocent prick of — oh!”

Muku pauses in his babbling, fearing the worst (an annoyed glare maybe, scathing remarks at the barest minimum) as he once again forgets to step on the breaks of his review for the latest volume from one of his favourite authors. Instead, he finds Yuki pausing in his needlework as well to look up at him with a tilt of his head.

“Why’d you stop…? You were saying that the author still manages to convey a mature spin on first love, right?”

Muku’s chest warms.

* * *

** Seeking Solace **

Muku’s a light sleeper and a fast learner, a good combination that allows him to recognize the very specific knocking rhythm that Yuki prefers when it’s the dead of night and he doesn’t want to wake Kazu-kun, but still needs to see Muku. So it’s with practiced ease that Muku groggily gets out of bed, blanket still over his shoulders, and cracks the door just a smidge with a sleepy smile and open arms. Yuki falls into his embrace as soon as he closes the door behind him, inhale deep, exhale with shaky puffs of his warm breath on Muku’s shoulder.

* * *

** Excuses **

He goes over it in his head, over and over and over and over again, until he’s memorized even the tone and inflection he wants to use just to say hello. Today is the day where he’ll finally be able to smoothly and naturally say _good morning!_ to the green haired boy sitting two desks in front of him.

But when Muku finds the courage to open the classroom door, Rurikawa doesn’t seem to even be at school yet; he sighs and trudges to his desk, nodding and smiling weakly to other classmates that greet him — maybe tomorrow, he’ll definitely, finally say hi to Rurikawa-kun tomorrow.

* * *

** Burning **

“Stop squirming or else I’m punching this needle straight to your skin!” Yuki barks out and the figure standing above him immediately stiffens in response. 

“I, I, I, I—!! So, Sorry, Yuki-kun.” Muku’s voice is but a squeak as he does his best to remain perfectly still while Yuki gingerly adjusts the folds of his kimono costume.

Muku can only hope that the costume designer doesn’t hear the frantic pounding of his chest or feel the immense warmth radiating off of him as Yuki, determined and cool and so, so focused, reaches around to wrap the obi tighter around his waist.

* * *

** Love **

Muku stares in wonder at Yuki, nervous and flushed, wearing what looks to be a hand-sewn apron with expertly embroidered lilies. When Yuki asked him a favour, Muku had never anticipated that it would be anything like taste-testing his first legitimately cooked meal. It honestly looks a little overcooked and when he takes a bite, there’s an overwhelming amount of sweetness that Ju-chan might prefer for his tamagoyakis that Muku surprisingly isn’t fond of, but he beams all the same.

“Yuki-kun, this is delicious!”

* * *

** Online **

**kaz-PIKO** posted on instablam: _look at our babies! sooooo hardworking they even fell asleep doing summer homework LOL can you two get more adorbs?!_

**muku-prince** commented: _kazu-kun!!!! delete this before yuki-kun wakes up!! >_< >_< >_<_

[1 new notification

_muku-prince sent you a DM: actually, kazu-kun… do you mind sending me the picture before you delete…? It doesn’t show up well when I screenshot._ ]

* * *

** Umbrella **

Muku has always wondered if forgetting your umbrella only for someone else to offer theirs to share is something that really only happens to shoujo manga leads. He just doesn’t expect that it might be him today when he sees the sky turning a gloomy grey and realizes with a start that he gave Ju-chan his umbrella the other day.

Maybe, Yuki-kun— …no, no, he has already gone home, Muku is sure. Yuki mentioned he needed to rush to the station after school to buy more fake gems for Citron’s crown prop.

So — it would be impossible for that figure leaning on the frame of the entryway to be Yuki, waiting with two umbrellas in hand, the other unfamiliar and looking oddly brand new.

“Took you long enough, Wonder Boy. Come on, let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm honestly overwhelmed by the support this garnered LOL just as a note, but the timeline shifts All Over the Place 
> 
> also wasn't going to post today, but felt that i needed something a little positive to brighten up my day amidst everything that's happening in the world. stay safe everyone !!


	3. Set 3: i love thee freely, as men strive for right.

** Acceptance **

Yuki rolls his eyes affectionately, puts down the blouse he had been folding before cheekily pinching Muku’s scrunched up nose. “It’s not like I’m leaving the dorm. It’s literally a three-week program, Wonder Boy.”

“But you’re off to _France_ , and not only is that really far away, that’s also three weeks too long _of you not being here_.” Muku whines and pouts and shoves Yuki’s hand away from his pretty porcelain face (literally anyone else and Yuki might have already sent them to hell and back at having even thought of being as spoiled as Muku is being right now; he’s very lucky he’s cute).

Yuki hums, tying his hair up into a bun at the top of his head, and promptly ignores the young man lounging on his carpet. He counts three beats — as usual — before he can feel Muku shuffling closer, long limbs around his waist with his forehead resting on Yuki’s shoulder, soft pink hair tickling his cheeks. “…but I’m really, really proud of you and I know you’ll do amazing out there, Yuki-kun.”

* * *

** Tears **

They won’t stop, no matter how much he tells his eyes to dry, so Yuki grips the hem of Muku’s sweater tighter instead, buries his face in the crook of the other’s neck. Intimate, vulnerable, too, too close and yet not close enough.

“Seriously, you were really cool just now.”

Yuki releases a shaky breath, feels his cheek go damp as a new set of tears fall, and steps closer in Muku’s embrace.

* * *

** Failure **

Yuki narrows his eyes into a glare; he’s certain if looks could burn, the test paper with a score _just_ below average would long have been turned to ash. Sometimes he really just hates numbers.

“Oh, Yuki-kun, are you having trouble with maths?” The voice startles him into shoving the quiz paper close to his chest. Yuki whips to find the source and sees no other than a sheepish looking Muku holding up his own math book. “If, if you’d like— do you want to go over it together? Tsumugi-san taught me how to do those problem sets yesterday and I wanted to practice them too! He says there’s no better way to learn than to teach it to someone else so—”

“Sure.” Yuki huffs. He tries to make it as nonchalant as possible, but he supposes there are some certain plus sides when it comes to dealing with numbers in pairs.

* * *

** Rebirth **

“Do you believe in past lives, Yuki-kun?” Muku asks, and like always, Yuki can feel the boy’s full attention on him before he can even look. “Because I do, and I think I must have done something good to have found you in this one.”

They’re both on their backs, lying on a soft picnic blanket made up of scrap fabric Taichi found, looking up at skies too vast and stars that wink back at them in delight. Yuki doesn’t answer because he doesn’t really think about all that romanticism; instead, the young boy smoothly and quietly slots his fingers, lithe and a little calloused, in between Muku’s, and it really is all the answer the prince-to-be needs.

* * *

** Perfection **

Tsumugi had chuckled softly at the realization once before that Yuki, so chillingly precise and meticulous with his clothesand the clothes he dresses everyone else into, is ultimately as haphazard and uninhibited as the rest of the summer troupe. Yuki would have been offended, but he doesn’t really have it in him anymore to deny any of the home tutor’s observations.

Besides, he doesn’t really think he wants to when Muku always gushes so genuinely at all the imperfections he once tried to hide.

* * *

** Forever and a day **

He could get used to this, is the first thing that pops into his head when Yuki finds himself in Muku’s arms, bundled up in a fuzzy blanket he knows isn’t his.

“Oh, sorry, did I wake you?” Muku’s voice is soft and pleasant and just the right amount of perfect melody to lull back to sleep. “You were dozing off on the couch, Yuki-kun. Practice ran a little later than usual, you must have been waiting a while, sorry.”

“S’okay,” is what he mumbles, too tired to really remember why he had been waiting up in the first place, but finds he doesn’t really mind when Muku chuckles breathily into his hair.

* * *

**Future**

Muku sighs dreamily and Yuki tips the rest of his champagne glass back. The two of them are curled up next to each other on a couch Hisoka must have demanded for as they watch the happy couple step awkwardly for their first dance as husband and wife.

“They really make you want to believe in happily ever afters, huh,” Muku’s voice is barely above a whisper but it’s enough for him to catch.

Yuki hears Izumi laugh, can practically see Sakyo straining to stop himself from smiling as wide, and the young man shifts ever closer to Muku’s side. “Yeah, they do.”

* * *

** Light **

Yuki is in the wings when Muku first steps into the spotlight. There’s a warm burst of pride and affection he can’t really blame on how gorgeous his costume looks on stage when it’s so clear to him just how much Muku outshines them all by the sheer amount of brilliance he radiates. He can’t take his eyes off of him.

* * *

** Dark **

Neither of them are really scared of the dark — definitely not as much as their hack of a leader, Yuki muses — but Muku still sticks to him like glue as they walk back to the campsite. 

“Don’t worry, Yuki-kun, if, if a bear suddenly comes out of this forest, I’ll definitely sacrifice myself so you can get to safety! And then you’ll reach the campsite and deliver the news to the troupe and then suddenly Tenma-kun would make the order to avenge me.” As gruesome as Muku’s imagination may be tonight, the young boy looks oddly excited at the prospect.

Yuki rolls his eyes and almost snorts out a laugh, almost. “If you wanted to be that great of a hero, could you maybe not die while trying to save me?”

* * *

** Faith **

Yuki’s not much of a believer, whether in religious figures or flimsy things like fate and destiny. But sometimes he looks at Muku, on days that are mundane and warm with the summer sun shining through his window, and thinks that maybe if there’s someone or something or just some higher being out there, Yuki would like to thank them. Sometimes, Muku smiles at him in that way that he keeps his mouth pressed tight but his eyes crinkle into soft blue crescents, and maybe Yuki would like to believe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy ep 11 in a3 anime!!!! wanted to post an update to commemorate That mukuyuki scene being animated and man was it worth the wait LOL
> 
> oh! btw, if you're interested in any of these drabbles being uhhh extended (???) please let me know :'D there are definitely some here that i'd love to make oneshot out of LOL i also hope the time jumps aren't too haphazard. :'O??? let me know if they're confusing;;

**Author's Note:**

> i've decided that there's a depressingly lacking number of fics for yukimuku that must be remedied !! incredibly self-indulgent. starting this drabble challenge to also help me practice more on getting yuki and muku's characters right :')))) yuki's voice is infinitely easier to write than muku though.
> 
> if you want to scream about yukimuku w/ me, please catch me on twitter @ _mayuuunaise !!


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